New York Mayor Bill de Blasio drops 2020 presidential bid

Mayor says he feels he’s contributed all he can to Democratic primary, but ‘it’s not my time’

By AP 20 September 2019, 4:40 pm

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In this January 10, 2019, file photo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at his State of the City address in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has ended his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

De Blasio struggled to gain traction in a sprawling field of Democrats seeking the presidency. He announced his decision in an MSNBC interview on Friday.

De Blasio launched his bid in May, but his campaign largely failed to take off.

De Blasio says he feels he’s contributed all he can “to this primary election.” He tells MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show “it’s clearly not my time.”

The mayor had announced his presidential run by heading to the Statue of Liberty, where he said the country is in an “identity crisis” around immigration, which he called “the founding and unifying element of the American experience.”

“We are figuring out who we are,” he said then. “There are American values we need to return to and fight for in order to achieve our greatest potential.”

On his campaign’s first day, he dived into an insult match with US President Donald Trump.